Equal Justice Under Law; Really?

It's time to Break It Down!

Sifting for topics for today’s blog, it would have been easy to default to the Palmetto State, an old reliable source of material, ripe for dissection and analysis. The field in the GOP Gubernatorial Primary there yesterday included one candidate who was required to fend off two unsubstantiated assertions by men claiming to have had what news reports refer to as inappropriate sexual relations with her. In what some would consider a curious irony, the candidate, State Representative Nikki Haley, received the endorsement of outgoing Governor, Mark Sanford, who had his own political future prematurely scuttled after his admission to an affair.

As if that were not enough, State Senator Jake Knotts referred to Ms. Haley, who is of Indian descent, as a raghead; a derogatory term used to slur Muslims and Hindus. The reference is to the turban commonly worn by Muslims and Hindus in the Middle East. Coincidentally, Ms. Haley was raised as a Sikh (neither Muslim, nor Hindu). However, in the interest of full disclosure, it should be noted Ms. Haley was born in South Carolina, attended Clemson University, and is a Methodist. Given the same goal of transparency, it should also be noted that Mr. Knotts referred to President Obama as a raghead during the same radio interview in which he slurred Ms. Haley in that fashion. I am not sure whether that makes his slurs equal opportunity venom, or more aptly, bi-partisan bile. What is certain is that based on Primary rules, Ms. Haley, who failed to garner 50% of the vote is slated to meet second place finisher Gresham Barrett in a runoff. Mr. Barrett's campaign efforts were hindered signifcantly by his vote for the Wall Street Bailout. Ms. Haley, who had the support of the Tea Party, finished with 49% of the vote to Mr. Barret's 22%. Undoubtedly there will be immense pressure to force, I mean persuade Mr. Barrett to drop out, and avoid the runoff.         

In any event, an equally compelling storyline is the fact that today is the 51st day of the now infamous BP Oil Spill imbroglio. Actually, given the economic and ecological consequences of that “unnatural” disaster," it is almost unconscionable to write about anything else. Well, almost.  Hearing that the President may have figured out "Who's Ass to kick" in this domestic Gulf War made it especially tempting to write about The Spill, even though I did so, just a couple of weeks ago.

“Equal Justice Under Law” is a phrase engraved on the front of the United States Supreme Court Building. Most of us would like to assume that a decade into the 21st Century, and more important for some, a year and a half into the Post-Obama era, the ideal has become reality; a norm.

At first blush, I think, sadly, there is much work to be done. But after further contemplation, I think, jubilantly, there is much work to be done. In the glass half-full orientation that is my preference, I am compelled to embrace the opportunity to address the inequities that continue to plague us as a society. No doubt, there are many who opine, in a country in which Barack Hussein Obama could become President, race, racism, racialism, and any other negative iteration of race as a subject has been eradicated. In fact, you can encounter the fiercest, most passionate argument imaginable from the Rush, Sean, and Glenn Triumvirate, and their disciples.

My most thoughtful, articulate, and dispassionate response to such a vapid assertion; BS! For Bologna Sandwich, of course; because that bland, less than filling excuse for a meal approximates the relative substance of most arguments that suggest we are “Beyond the race problem.”

Let me be clear, much progress has been made.  To argue to the contrary would be ludicrous. That is why I can assert the glass is half-full. Growing up in America, there were many rules. I was trained and conditioned to follow most of them, including:

• Go to school

• Study hard

• Attain multiple college degrees

• Get a job

• Work hard

• Obey the law

• Give back

Having done those things, here is what I believe, firmly and irrevocably, and say most respectfully. "To aitch with that half glass!" I deserve, I want, and I expect a full glass! Now frankly, people who embrace the Rush, Sean, Glenn World-view believe that black men and women who maintain such a posture are ill-tempered, impertinent, and out-of-our lane.  I reserve the right to believe they are victims of their own arrested development.  

When confronted by facts, data, and solid research that document shabby, and in this case, discriminatory and illegal treatment, modern-day obstructionists do what their predecessors did before them; they move to obfuscate, delay, and confuse the issues, by any means necessary, to avoid ceding the ever important sense of entitlement and privileged advantage to which they have grown accustomed.

The Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), conducted a study covering the States of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee, and found instances in some majority-black counties in which prosecutors excluded nearly 80% of African Americans eligible for jury duty. There were even  instances of majority-black counties in which capital defendants were tried by all white juries.

EJI findings also included evidence that some prosecutors are trained to exclude people on the basis of race, and to conceal their bias. African Americans have been excluded from jury service for such disparate reasons as, because they:

• Appeared to have “low intelligence”

• Wore eyeglasses

• Were single

• Were married

• Were separated

• Were too old for jury service at 43 years old

• Were too young for jury service at 28 years old

• Had relatives who attended historically black colleges

• Walked a certain way

• Chewed gum

• Lived in a predominantly black neighborhood

All of the reasons for exclusion cited above should concern African Americans, and any person who cares about the equitable dissemination of justice. But there are other reasons people of good faith give pause. Primarily, it is important to recognize the study also found that compared to diverse juries, all-white juries tend to spend less time in deliberation, make more errors, and consider fewer perspectives.

While this study concentrated on Southern States, like most aspects of racist practices, and discriminatory behavior, the problem persists across America. Most sections of the country have experienced forms of unrest, violence, or destruction in response to non-diverse criminal jury verdicts. For example, the breath and scope of the incendiary reactions to such practices includes communities in:

• Miami

• New York

• Los Angeles

• Hartford Connecticut

• Jena Louisiana

• Powhatan, Virginia

• Milwaukee, Wisconsin

• The Florida Panhandle

“Equal Justice Under Law; Really?” I once heard Dr, Cornel West explain in a meeting, with regard to the state of race relations in America, he was a “Prisoner of hope.” Saddled with the same affliction, I continue to think, jubilantly, there is much work to be done. Will you join me? The question is rhetorical, of course. But before you formulate your response, remember, the first step in resolving the problem is to admit…”There is a problem.”

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com. A new post is published each Wednesday. For more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult the links below:

http://www.eji.org/eji/node/397

http://blackpoliticsontheweb.com/2010/06/02/racial-discrimination-in-jury-selection-remains-widespread-according-to-eji-study-released-today/

http://eji.org/eji/files/RaceandJurySelectionReport.pdf

http://atlantapost.com/2010/06/03/racial-discrimination-in-jury-selection-remains-widespread/

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/studies-racial-discrimination-jury-selection-continues-death-penalty-cases

http://jurist.org/paperchase/2010/06/us-study-finds-widespread-racial-discrimination-in-jury-selection-in-south.php

http://standdown.typepad.com/weblog/2010/06/race-and-juries-in-the-south.html

http://aroundthesphere.wordpress.com/2010/06/06/the-past-is-not-so-past-after-all/

http://reconstitution.us/rcnew/?tag=jury-selection

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/02/us/02jury.html?scp=1&sq=black%20jury&st=cse

http://ww.examiner.com/x-44007-Raleigh-Civil-Rights-Examiner~y2010m6d8-Blacks-still-unfairly-excluded-from-southern-juries-says-new-study

http://politifi.com/news/More-postracial-America-blacks-still-barred-from-juries-KY-segregated-clubs-live-on-971953.html

http://www.facebook.com/equaljusticeinitiative?v=wall

http://www.idealist.org/en/org/162289-125

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryan_Stevenson

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal_justice_under_law

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikhism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methodism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jake_Knotts

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rush_Limbaugh